Transportable play mats which act as a barrier between the surface of the ground and the child are known. Such devices can provide a clean play area for a child either inside or outside the home. They may also provide a convenient way to gather and transport toys or other play items once play time is concluded.
Generally, such devices are made of some type of cloth material. One problem associated with the design of such devices is that they typically must be manually spread out by an adult or adolescent of appropriate age in order to maximize the surface area of the play mat. Additionally, the risk of the child tripping or falling in the play area is increased due to folded corners or wrinkles forming when manually spread out. Furthermore, dirt may easily accumulate on the surface of such a play mat if used in an outdoor environment, defeating the purpose of providing a clean play area for the child.
Other games or play mats known in the art teach that they may be folded and transported once play time is concluded. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 6,554,685 B2 (Lish), U.S. Pat. No. 3,948,528 (Goodman, Jr.), and U.S. Pat. No. 2,667,353 (Lanice). These patents, however, exhibit the same problems as outlined above due to the fact that they must be manually spread out.
In addition to the problems associated with the play mats which must be manually spread out, a separate problem presented by such devices is the inadequacy of their closing mechanisms for quick and efficient storage and transportability. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,429,541 (Landon); U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,611 (Rosengren). The closing mechanisms of those devices frequently comprise a drawstring cord. The drawstring cord is attached or strung through the periphery of the device leaving some portion of the cord exposed. The exposed portion of the cord, however, presents a danger of the child getting his or her foot caught on it and tripping. Additionally, the devices with the closing mechanism described result in a pouch-like container when in the closed position. Such pouch-like configurations may be undesirable for transportation purposes since they are bulky and cumbersome. Furthermore, such closed configurations cannot conveniently be stored out of sight.